Saturday, 22 June 2013
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
Israeli Arrow II ready for Syrian missiles. US Patriots for Jordan. Moscow backs Hizballah
DEBKAfile Special Report June 2, 2013, 12:07 PM (IDT)
Israel's Arrow II missile interceptor
“Syrian batteries are in a high state of operability, ready to fire at short notice,” said Israel Air Force Colonel Zvika Haimovich in special briefings to international media Friday. He disclosed that Israel tracks every missile fired in the Syrian civil war, since southward launches would give Israel mere seconds to determine it was not the true target. “All it would take is a few degrees’ change in the flight path to endanger us.”
In Washington, Pentagon sources reported that the United States was sending Patriot missile defense systems and F-16 fighter jets to Jordan for the annual joint Eager Lion exercise between the two armies. The sources did not say whether the Patriots and fighter jets would withdraw after the two-month exercise. The US officials pointed out that the Patriots would not shield Jordan from Syrian Scuds, but were a demonstration of US support for the Hashemite kingdom.
At the same time, debkafile’s military sources report a high degree of operational coordination between the US Patriot deployments in Jordan and Turkey and the Israeli Arrow 2 preparedness for a potential missile attack which could come from Iran, Syria, Lebanon or the Gaza Strip.
Another component of this missile shield is the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System aboard US warships in the Mediterranean.
Moscow, for its part, continues to sow confusion about the delivery of its S-300 anti-air missile batteries to Syria, but has shown its hand on another issue, by blocking a UN Security Council motion that would have condemned Hizballah. Tabled under the heading of “a declaration of alarm over Qusayr” the Council was asked to express “grave concern” over the dire events in that town since Hizballah forces fighting with the Syrian army captured most of its urban area.
Our military sources report heavy fighting is raging in the northern sector of al Qusayr since the rebels brought in reinforcements for their last stand late last week.
A Hizballah siege force has cut off food and water supplies for the 10,000 civilians and 2,500 opposition fighters trapped in that corner of the town. At least 1.200 wounded people are without access to medical attention.
Moscow claimed it blocked a Security Council motion on al Qusayr because there was no UN condemnation when the Syrian rebels captured the town in 2012.
For Israel, the Russian UN action is of great concern because it amounts to the extension of Moscow’s patronage not just to the Assad regime but also to Hizballah which spearheaded the al Qusayr offensive. This is consistent with the pledges of support Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov gave Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah during their secret conversation in Beirut on April 27.
When questioned on this score, Russian diplomats were evasive - in the same way as they are ambiguous about the S-300 missiles. However Moscow’s Security Council action leaves no room for doubt that Hizballah’s military intervention in the Syrian war has won a powerful champion in Moscow
Speaking at the Palmachim air and missile base south of Tel Aviv, Col. Haimovich explained that long-range radars feed real-time data on the barrages to the base command where officers are braced to activate Arrow II. The more threatening launches set off sirens in Palmachim. Warplanes there are also on standby to scramble.
“We are looking at all aspects, from the performance of weaponry to the way the Syrians use it," said the Israeli air force officer. “They have used everything that I am aware exists in their missile and rocket arsenal [against Syrian rebel forces]. They are improving all the time, and so are we… but we need to study and be prepared.”
Another Israeli expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, described a combination of split-second analysis of the strength of the launch with up-to-date intelligence on Bashar Assad's intentions. He said Israel had beefed up its deployment to more than four nationwide batteries, to allow for repeated interception of any incoming missile. The intention is “to ensure that we have at least two opportunities to intercept. We have not yet been called into action on the northern front, but I believe that we will be," said this officer.“We are looking at all aspects, from the performance of weaponry to the way the Syrians use it," said the Israeli air force officer. “They have used everything that I am aware exists in their missile and rocket arsenal [against Syrian rebel forces]. They are improving all the time, and so are we… but we need to study and be prepared.”
In Washington, Pentagon sources reported that the United States was sending Patriot missile defense systems and F-16 fighter jets to Jordan for the annual joint Eager Lion exercise between the two armies. The sources did not say whether the Patriots and fighter jets would withdraw after the two-month exercise. The US officials pointed out that the Patriots would not shield Jordan from Syrian Scuds, but were a demonstration of US support for the Hashemite kingdom.
At the same time, debkafile’s military sources report a high degree of operational coordination between the US Patriot deployments in Jordan and Turkey and the Israeli Arrow 2 preparedness for a potential missile attack which could come from Iran, Syria, Lebanon or the Gaza Strip.
Another component of this missile shield is the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System aboard US warships in the Mediterranean.
Moscow, for its part, continues to sow confusion about the delivery of its S-300 anti-air missile batteries to Syria, but has shown its hand on another issue, by blocking a UN Security Council motion that would have condemned Hizballah. Tabled under the heading of “a declaration of alarm over Qusayr” the Council was asked to express “grave concern” over the dire events in that town since Hizballah forces fighting with the Syrian army captured most of its urban area.
Our military sources report heavy fighting is raging in the northern sector of al Qusayr since the rebels brought in reinforcements for their last stand late last week.
A Hizballah siege force has cut off food and water supplies for the 10,000 civilians and 2,500 opposition fighters trapped in that corner of the town. At least 1.200 wounded people are without access to medical attention.
Moscow claimed it blocked a Security Council motion on al Qusayr because there was no UN condemnation when the Syrian rebels captured the town in 2012.
For Israel, the Russian UN action is of great concern because it amounts to the extension of Moscow’s patronage not just to the Assad regime but also to Hizballah which spearheaded the al Qusayr offensive. This is consistent with the pledges of support Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov gave Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah during their secret conversation in Beirut on April 27.
When questioned on this score, Russian diplomats were evasive - in the same way as they are ambiguous about the S-300 missiles. However Moscow’s Security Council action leaves no room for doubt that Hizballah’s military intervention in the Syrian war has won a powerful champion in Moscow
Australia: China spy agency hack claims 'will not hit ties'
Mr Carr said it was policy not to comment on intelligence or security matters
Foreign Minister Bob Carr says a report alleging Chinese hackers stole plans for Australia's new intelligence hub will not hit ties with Beijing.
On Monday the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported blueprints setting out the building's cable layouts and security systems had been illegally accessed by a server in China. Mr Carr did not comment directly on the claims.
But he said the government was "very alive" to cyber security threats.
"I won't comment on whether the Chinese have done what is being alleged or not," he said.
"I won't comment on matters of intelligence and security for the obvious reason: we don't want to share with the world and potential aggressors what we know about what they might be doing, and how they might be doing it."
But he said the ABC report had "no implications" for a strategic partnership. "We have enormous areas of co-operation with China," he said.
'Listen in'
The claims were made in a report on Chinese cyber-espionage by ABC's Four Corners investigative programme on Monday night.
The programme alleged that blueprints to the new intelligence headquarters in Canberra - due to be finished last year but delayed - were stolen in a cyber attack on a contractor that was traced to a server in China.
The plans detailed communications cabling and server locations, floor plans and security systems, the programme alleged.
It quoted Professor Des Ball, an expert on cyber security from the Australian National University, as saying access to such details would enable an outside party to identify rooms used for sensitive activities and work out how to monitor them.
The programme also alleged that the Prime Minster's Office, the Defence Ministry and the Department of Foreign Affairs had been breached in hacking operations.
Four Corners did not identify the source of its information.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei rejected the claims, saying "groundless" accusations would not solve the problem of cyber hacking.
"Since it is technically untraceable, it is very difficult to find the source and identify the hacker,'' he said. "Therefore we have no idea what is the evidence for their report in which they make the claim with such certainty.''
Earlier this year, hackers from China - which is now Australia's biggest trading partner - were thought to be behind an attack on the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian Financial Review reported.
The issue of cyber espionage looks set to be high on the agenda when the US and Chinese presidents hold their first summit in California next month.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon for the first time directly accused the Chinese government and military of targeting US government computers as part of a cyber espionage campaign aimed at collecting intelligence on US diplomatic, economic and defence sectors.
China called the report "groundless", saying it represented "US distrust
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
UN court acquits Serbia intelligence chiefs of war crimes
Frank Simatovic was transferred to The Hague in 2003.
A UN tribunal at The Hague has found two former Serbian intelligence chiefs not guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic were accused of directing several Serbian units in committing atrocities during the Balkans conflict in the 1990s.Both men denied charges including murder and ethnic cleansing.
Judges acquitted them on all counts and ordered their immediate release.
Powerful men
The high-ranking Serb officials, who were allies of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, were accused of training and funding violent paramilitary groups responsible for mass killings and torture during the conflict.
Mr Stanisic, 62, was Mr Milosevic's one-time state security chief and seen as one of the country's most powerful men.
Mr Simatovic, 63, a former counter-intelligence officer in the Serbian State Security Services, was transferred to The Hague a decade ago, following the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.
Jovica Stanisic is a former counter-intelligence officer in the Serbian State Security Services But the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) said there was insufficient evidence to show that either man had assisted soldiers who were allegedly responsible for murder and other crimes in Bosnia and Croatia.
In summing up, the presiding judge Alphons Orie acknowledged that the crimes had been committed but said there was insufficient evidence to prove the accused were directly responsible.
The verdicts are highly significant, says the BBC's Anna Holligan in The Hague.
Prosecutors failed to convince the judges that there was any Serbian state responsibility in the mass killings of non-Serbs by the notorious Serb paramilitary brigades, our correspondent says.
The ICTY's ruling comes three months after appeal judges at The Hague acquitted the former chief of the Yugoslav National Army of aiding and abetting atrocities by rebel Serbs in Bosnia.
Momcilo Perisic, who commanded the Yugoslav army during the wars in Bosnia and Croatia, had been found guilty and sentenced to 27 years for crimes against humanity after a trial in 2011.
Thursday's verdict may help to restore faith among Serbs in the neutrality of the special court. Many have accused the tribunal being weighted against them.
Monday, 3 June 2013
An alleged CIA agent has been briefly
detained in Moscow for allegedly trying to recruit a Russian intelligence
officer, Russian media report.
The man, named as US diplomat Ryan Fogle, was held overnight before being released to US officials, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said.
Russia has declared him "persona non grata" and ordered his expulsion, the foreign ministry said on its website.
The US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul, had been summoned, it added.
Continue reading the main story
This is a sensitive time for US-Russian relations. The two countries are
currently involved in delicate diplomacy over Syria. At the same time, Moscow
and Washington have been taking cautious steps towards defrosting relations.
But the FSB's claims to have unearthed a CIA agent are unlikely to have any long-term political consequences. Both countries know that espionage did not end with the conclusion of the Cold War. Spying happens, and so do spy scandals.
The FSB has alleged that America recently made "several" attempts to recruit Russian law enforcement officers, and security officials and that the Russians have monitored such attempts. That sends a message to the United States: despite recent diplomacy and talk of co-operation, Moscow is not prepared to trust Washington completely.
Analysis
But the FSB's claims to have unearthed a CIA agent are unlikely to have any long-term political consequences. Both countries know that espionage did not end with the conclusion of the Cold War. Spying happens, and so do spy scandals.
The FSB has alleged that America recently made "several" attempts to recruit Russian law enforcement officers, and security officials and that the Russians have monitored such attempts. That sends a message to the United States: despite recent diplomacy and talk of co-operation, Moscow is not prepared to trust Washington completely.
Mr Fogle is said to have worked as third political
secretary at the US embassy in Moscow, which has issued no comment on the matter
so far.
Photos have emerged of his alleged detention.
The agent was reportedly arrested with a large sum of money, technical devices and written instructions for the agent he had tried to recruit.
While it is a sensitive time for US-Russian relations because of the crisis in Syria, the FSB's claims to have unearthed a CIA agent are unlikely to have any long-term political consequences, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg reports from Moscow.
Both countries recently said they wished to step up security co-operation after the Boston Marathon bombing.
'Dear friend'
FSB photos purporting to show Mr Fogle during and after his detention appeared on Russian online media, such as these published by broadcaster RT.
Wearing a blue checked shirt and a plain baseball cap, he is shown being held on the ground with his hands bound, then being escorted away.
Another photo shows him sitting at desk, his hat removed.
Possessions said to be Mr Fogle's are laid out on a table. They include a sum of money in 500-euro banknotes and two wigs, one of which he was apparently wearing at the time of his detention.
Also on the table are a compass, map, knife, dark glasses and small mobile phone.
"FSB counter-intelligence agents detained a CIA staff member who had been working under the cover of third political secretary of the US embassy in Moscow," the FSB said.
"At the moment of detention, special technical equipment was discovered, written instructions for the Russian citizen being recruited, as well as a large sum of money and means for altering appearance."
Russian officials said they had
confiscated a large sum of money, wigs and technical equipment Russian state TV has displayed a piece of paper, which it said was Mr Fogle's letter to the Russian officer.
Addressing the recipient as "Dear friend", the letter offers $100,000 (£65,400) "to discuss your experience, expertise and co-operation".
It goes on to say: "We can offer up to $1m a year for long-term co-operation, with extra bonuses if we receive some helpful information.
"This is a down-payment from someone who is very impressed with your professionalism and who would greatly appreciate your co-operation in the future."
The letter is simply signed "Your friends".
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